About the Fans
I'm probably going to be negbombed to Bolivia, but I have to get this off my chest.
I am a Michigan alum, and a rabid Wolverine for the past 8 years. I did not grow up rooting for the Wolverines, but I live & die by the Maize and Blue with the rest of them. Hell, my first game in the Big House was The Horror, and I'm still here so that has to count for something.
I was at The Game today. Honestly I can't blame the coaches and players too much. They are operating within the constraints forced upon them by situations outside of their control. They gave it their all, and for that they should always have a special place in the heart of Michigan's Faithful.
The biggest element I found lacking was the fanbase. From the start, the stadium was at least 25-35% Buckeyes. I know it's Thanksgiving weekend, but you won't see Ohio selling that many tickets to us when we're playing in Columus.
But even worse to me was the fact that the atmosphere just plain wasn't there. You could hear a pin drop on most Ohio downs. When they were running tempo, you could clearly tell that our fanbase was not prepared and had no idea about when to get loud. In full honesty, when they annouced the Slippery Rock score there was a bigger reaction than on Ohio third downs when our defense needed it the most. Not to mention the fact that the stairs were fully occupied with Michigan fans leaving from the beginning of the fourth quater onward at full tilt.
I don't mean to denegrate our fans, I honestly don't. But to put things in perspective, I went to the Alabama-LSU game this year and the difference is night and day.. If we ever want to be a "Great Team" we need to secure our home field advantage. It's one thing to have a great team, a great coaching staff, great traditions, a great campus. But if we can't turn the Big House into a place that strikes fear into opposing teams' hearts we will never truly be elite.
I hate people pointing out issues without proposing solutions, so I will propose a few. First, we need to stop selling tickets to opposing fans. How we do that in the age of Stubhub is a difficult task. The Mgoblog ticket list is a good start, but we need to do so at a larger scale. Maybe the Athletic Department could work on a fan-to-fan sales system where they could take a cut but still ensure tickets end up in the hands of Michigan fans.
I also agree with Woodson -- The Game needs to be moved to 3:30 or a night start to encourage fans to get rowdy. The atmosphere shouldn't be like an afternoon picnic. It needs to be fierce and intimidating.
Lastly we need to take measures to get people loud when they're in the stadium. Encourage the people next to you to yell! There are times for talking (TV timeouts, halftime) and there are times for yelling (every down on defense). If we can't make use of the largest crowd in America then we are throwing away a vital advantage for our boys in Maize and Blue.
I may be preaching to the choir, or I may be pissing people off. Regardless, this is a message that needs to get out and be discussed seriously. It blows my mind that we can have a better atmosphere for a Penn State night game last year than we did for our most hated rival in a meanginful situation and Harbaugh's first year. Let the Team work on the X's and O's, but let's make sure we bring the heat and get back up our defense with the best damn home field advantage in all of sports.
Honestly our fanbase should be ashamed at the support we provided the team today, and we need to get real about fixing things.
-GS
November 28th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
too boisterously???
How is it not unanimous that this is fucked up?
What universe is this, and how do I get back to Earth Prime?
November 28th, 2015 at 6:21 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:21 PM ^
Michigan fans can tell when their team doesn't have it. That was today, OSU's drive to start the 2nd half took the air out of the place, then they put the game away on the next drive.
Michigan fans aren't football dumb, they know whats going on.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:22 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:24 PM ^
I honestly think the people bitching about selling the tickets to OSU fans have never bought our sold a ticket on line in their life. There is no "which team are you a fan of" box to indicate your rooting preference on stubhub or any other online site. Just a box to place your bid and unfortunately the OSU fans bid higher it seems. Only a VERY small fraction of the tickets resold are conducted in person where you can identify rooting interest so if the place was actually that full of red blame Adam Smith, not your fellow season ticket holders.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:34 PM ^
Love this!!!
November 28th, 2015 at 6:51 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:41 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
100,000 different reasons I would guess. Need money, family issues, illness, don't like cold, don't like noon games, worried about security....you name it. I can tell you in the 36 years I had season tickets the only OSU game I missed was the 2013 game and that was because my Father-in-Law's funeral was that day.
But like I said. When you post tickets for sale ANYBODY can buy them as long as their the highest bidder. The idea that these tickets can be sold only to Michigan fans is nonsense but my guess is the OP has only ever seen tickets bought or sold on Stadium Blvd.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
People who travel to be with family for Thanksgiving weekend, for one?
November 28th, 2015 at 6:24 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:32 PM ^
Your team was losing by 4 at halftime of The Freaking Game and you were yawning?!
%$%#$@#!! @$@#@!@!! $#@!!
November 28th, 2015 at 6:35 PM ^
That's not what he was talking about.
WE WERE LOUD UNTIL IT WAS 28-10 OSU AND OUR DEFENSE HADN'T DONE A DAMN THING IN THE LAST 4 OSU DRIVES.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:41 PM ^
"I was literally yawning at halftime."
I assume he was literally yawning at half time.
But please, explain how that doesn't make sense.
Fucking unbelievable.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:25 PM ^
There is no other stadium or fan base in the country that has a long running confrontation regarding "Down in front!"
Anywhere else, people are welcome to sit, but they don't get to tell everyone else to sit down and there isn't even a question about it.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:25 PM ^
Its hard to compare OSU fans coming to the big house to Michigan fans going to the Shoe.
OSU fans are assholes and I know many Michigan fans are fearful of going there . Because they are inbred , redneck, morons and go beyond the pale to treat us poorly . Trash our vehicles , spit at us, throw beer at us, etc .
I certainly wont suggest we treat them as they do us. That would be stooping to their level.
We do need to try our best to make sure Michigan fans get tickets to Michigan home games . Especially one as important as this one .
Maybe if we NEG them all to hell like that asshat above (VS) people will start thinking like a fan, and not an inconsiderate asshole .
Ok well at least it might help with that particular asshole in this case . Which is a start .
November 28th, 2015 at 10:01 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 10:12 PM ^
an intimidating, passionate environment.
Being physically threatening or abusive (spitting, etc.) is an obvious place to draw the line. People who do that are sub-human.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:27 PM ^
The lack of support is a direct implication of our expectations. I know schools that would give thier endowments to have what we have. Our fans, and The University of Michigan in general, have the highest expectations regardless of reality.
I'd argue that's why we have the greatest tradition in sports. We dont applaud almost. Only greatness. That audacity has led to more wins than anyone else thats walked on a D-I field.
So, the fans did exactly what they're suppose to. Expect.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:28 PM ^
I had season tickets through the mid to late 90s into the early 00s, when Michigan had control of the rivalry. Back then, there were still plenty of OSU fans in the stadium. The difference is that Michigan was winning the games... so the Ohio fans shut the hell up and it was entertaining to watch them walking out with their heads hung down. The same thing could happen again if Michigan would, you know, actually beat OSU.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:29 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 10:32 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:46 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:53 PM ^
One person agreeing with you doesn't make you right, I was watching on TV and there's no way it was anywhere near 25% red.
November 29th, 2015 at 4:05 AM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 10:35 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 10:46 PM ^
You do realize they play it to drown out the spelling of "Ohio" in a game we're getting crushed in, right?
I'd rather have The Victors playing down 20+ than hear "O-H-I-O" constantly.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:30 PM ^
Otherwise, I agree with you.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:30 PM ^
I do believe I made some buckeye fan dang near deaf clapping like Brady Hoke behind him as loud as I could. Figured a win there would make me feel something positive! Didn't work but more beer worked.
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:34 PM ^
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November 28th, 2015 at 6:35 PM ^
Our fans have always been lame for the most part, I've been going to games for 20 years. Look around and you'll see 70% just sitting around and watching. I guess if 30K of the other fans makes noise thats still a lot and it will sound kind of loud. Most of our Alumns are too proud and proper tp be told what color to wear or look silly by screaming.
But sure as shit though they will stand for the band at halftime. As soon as the ball kicks off, down in front.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
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